Searchers comb Fitchburg neighborhood for missing boy

Sunday

Dec 22, 2013 at 6:00 AMDec 22, 2013 at 6:41 PM

By Paula J. Owen TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

FITCHBURG — Dozens of friends, neighbors and family members of young Jeremiah Oliver, missing for months and feared dead, held hands in the vacant lot across the street from his mother's apartment Saturday morning, reciting the Lord's prayer and vowing to not give up the search until they find the 5-year-old boy's body before Christmas.

Jeremiah, 5, has not been seen since September and his mother, Elsa Oliver, 28, and her boyfriend Alberto L. Sierra Jr., 23, who allegedly terrorized and brutalized the family for months, are under arrest on various charges related to alleged abuse of the boy, his siblings and his mother.

Police continue to investigate the child's disappearance, which they learned about Dec. 13, and a state Department of Child & Family Services worker assigned to the case and their supervisor have been fired for failing to conduct home checks on the boy. A third DCF employee has also been disciplined in the case.

Saturday morning, a group of people — largely Latino — gathered on Kimball Street to look for the boy, including his 41-year-old father Jose Oliver, uncle and other family members, some wearing shirts that said, "Team Jeremiah. Bring me home."

"We're not going to stop," said Jeremiah's aunt Luz Oliver, of Worcester. " We're going to keep searching. This is like something you see on TV when a child is missing. You never think it will happen to you. All I want is to see my nephew."

Luz Oliver said she remembers bringing the family food a few years ago when Jeremiah's mother and father still lived in Worcester. Though she said Elsa Oliver was diagnosed with mental illness at 17, Luz Oliver said she seemed to take good care of the children and love them. She blames Mr. Sierra for the alleged abuse of the children and Jeremiah's disappearance, she said.

She said she still has hope Jeremiah is alive.

Jody Rodriguez of Worcester, who grew up with Jeremiah's father, said he hadn't seen the boy in more than two years, after Mrs. Oliver got a restraining order against him and "took off." She said Mr. Oliver, of New Britain, Conn., had no idea where his three youngest children or their mother lived until recently.

Mr. Oliver's other two children with Jeremiah's mother are in the custody of the DCF.

One of his two older children from a previous relationship, Sixto Oliver, 19, was also helping search Saturday. Jose Oliver said he also has a 13-year-old son, Brandon Oliver.

She and others involved in the search were questioning why Fitchburg police, who were directing traffic, were not helping to look.

"They should be out here with dogs," she said. "I don't understand."

Edwin Fernandez, who lives next door to Mrs. Oliver, claimed if Jeremiah were white, law enforcement officials would be doing more to find him.

"It is not a white person missing, and they're not doing their job because he is Hispanic," Mr. Fernandez said.

However, Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said on the phone Saturday evening that nothing could be further from the truth.

He said investigators have worked "feverishly" on the case since the boy was reported missing and the case has "torn the hearts out of everyone" in his office, and also those working on it in the Fitchburg department and from the State Police.

Early Saturday, Fitchburg and state police detectives searched several areas in Fitchburg with cadaver dogs, but did not find anything, Mr. Early said.

"We started searching at 6:30 — we looked at the most effective ways to use the cadaver dogs with no distractions," he said. "Yelling can distract them. We also asked Fitchburg officers to stay there in case anything was found. It would immediately become a crime scene and they are trained to make sure the crime scene is preserved. We've worked around the clock on this since we were notified of the missing child."

Mr. Early also said a search warrant was obtained for Elsa Oliver's apartment building over a week ago and that the home, including the basement, was searched.

"We were informed through our canvasing of a smell in the basement," he said.

Cadaver dogs were used to search the basement the day his office was notified Jeremiah was missing, he said.

"We went through the house extensively on a search warrant," he said. "This is a 5-year-old child. We're doing everything we can to find him."

He said he could not give out any further details of the investigation.

"We don't want to tip off a defendant or potential defendant about what is going on," Mr. Early said.

At the informal search Saturday, Antoinette Rodriguez of Worcester, who is also friends with Jeremiah's father, blamed the DCF for the boy's disappearance.

"They needed to do something," she said. "That's their job. It doesn't matter how many cases you have. You are supposed to be there to protect the kids."

Others were asking why Mayor Lisa A. Wong wasn't present.

In a text, Ms. Wong said her prayers are with the community.

"I have been working around the clock with the authorities to follow the evidence and working with community organizations to set up long-term counseling services," Ms. Wong said Saturday afternoon. "So many people want to help so I'm working hard to facilitate all of the requests to help in meaningful ways that also do not hinder the investigation.

"Family is so important and I urge the community to hold their loved ones, to pray for Jeremiah and to please, please, please do not be silent if they know of domestic violence in their own or someone else's family."

Earlier in the search, Jeremiah's uncle Sandrino Oliver of Worcester crawled through a culvert in a large, rock retaining wall for Layton Street behind the Mrs. Oliver's apartment to search for the boy.

A very emotional man emerged from a hole in the snow about 30 feet from the culvert entrance where he went in, crying and rocking back and forth. Though he did not find anything, friends consoling him say family members are devastated by the boy's disappearance.

They intend to continue their search Sunday.

Jeremiah Oliver has been missing since Sept. 14. The boy's mother and her boyfriend Mr. Sierra are due back in Fitchburg District Court Dec. 24. Ms. Oliver was ordered Tuesday to undergo mental health evaluation. Mr. Sierra was ordered held without bail at his arraignment Monday.

Those trying to help have created a Facebook page: Please help us bring home jeremiah oliver.

Contact Paula Owen at powen@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @PaulaOwenTG.